Beginner Spanish with Spanish Obsessed

Beginners 52: City vs country living

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 06 May 2025 21:50:54 +0000

Discover how to express missing people and places in Spanish in our episode "Missing Things: City vs Countryside." Learn three authentic expressions—"extrañar," "echar de menos," and "hacer falta"—through a natural conversation about life in Colombia's bustling capital versus its peaceful coffee region. Perfect for beginners who want to sound more natural when expressing emotions in Spanish!

Beginners 51: The car crash

Spanish Obsessed — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 15:13:20 +0000

Lis tells us about her car crash in the centre of Bogotá. Learn how to describe accidents, and unexpected events in Spanish.

Beginners 50 - Telling a story with the past tense(s)

Spanish Obsessed — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 14:46:31 +0000

A few years ago, we made a move from London to Bogota - in this episode, Lis tells the story of our intercontinental move.
Learn how to combine the preterite tenses (imperfect and indefinite) when you tell a story, and when to use each one.

Foundations 2 is launching on the 7th April! Head to spanishobsessed.com/foundations-2 to find out more!

Beginners 49: The indefinido (part 1)

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 30 May 2024 20:32:43 +0000

An introduction to using the other preterite tense, the "indefinido".

Beginners 48 - Imperfect "triggers"

Spanish Obsessed — Fri, 24 May 2024 01:31:01 +0000

Learn some handy "triggers" that often indicate the imperfect

Beginners 47: Ser and Ir in the imperfect

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:15:39 +0000

Learn how to use "ser" and "ir" in the imperfect tense in Spanish, featuring a dialogue, and some nifty hacks for both remembering the conjugations as well as some great uses of these verbs.

Beginners 46: A brief overview of the past tenses

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 15:18:08 +0000

In this and the next few episodes, we'll be focusing on the preterite, or past tense. What are the two past tenses, and what are a couple of good rules of thumb to know?

Beginners 45: Relationships and talking about your civil status

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 16:54:07 +0000

Should we say "estoy casado" or "soy casado"? Is it a temporary state, or a permanent feature...?
Learn which to use, and when, as well as other vocabulary and expressions to talk about relationships.

Beginners 44: Exclamations

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 16:04:51 +0000

Learn 3 structures for exclamations, all using the word "qué"

Beginners 43: Having a good time

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:43:25 +0000

Learn how to use "pasárselo" and "pasársela" to talk about how you spend your time

Beginners 42: Getting on with people

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Learn ways to talk about "getting on with people" (or not!) in Spanish. You'll learn how to use "llevarse bien/mal", "caerse bien", as well as some intriguing English borrowings ("hacer clik", for example!).

Beginners 41: Using "desde hace" to talk about what you've been doing

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 16:11:45 +0000

Learn 2 ways to say "to have been doing" something in Spanish. Turns out, it's actually a lot simpler to do this in Spanish than English!

Beginners 40: Telling stories with the present tense

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 15:21:10 +0000

Did you know you can use the present tense to talk about the past? It's something called the "historical tense", which adds drama to your stories. Learn how to use it in this episode!

Beginners 39: Negotiating prices

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 18:25:12 +0000

How to get a discount in Spanish - make sure you ask three times using the phrases you learn in this episode!

Beginners 38: Clothes shopping

Spanish Obsessed — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 01:11:03 +0000

Learn useful phrases to help you go clothes shopping, with verbs like "quedar" and "medirse".

Beginners 37: Hablar, decir, and contar

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 20:51:27 +0000

Learn to tell the difference between "hablar", "decir" and "contar" - three commonly confused verbs in Spanish.

Beginners 36: Saber vs Conocer

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 14:52:45 +0000

Learn the difference between these two verbs, which both mean "to know".

Find out more about Foundations 1, our new structured interactive video course for Beginners.

Beginners 35: "Reverse construction" verbs

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 09:43:44 +0000

Do you get confused by "gustar" and other similar verbs? Learn about "reverse construction" verbs, and use them to sound more natural in your Spanish.

Beginners 34: Dedicar and dedicarse

Spanish Obsessed — Wed, 19 May 2021 11:50:45 +0000

Learn how to use the verbs dedicar and dedicarse to talk about your jobs, passions, and life.

Beginners 33: Uses of "tener"

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 15:35:07 +0000

"Tener" is a very common word, but to get the most out of it it's worth learning a few different uses. Learn these to sound more natural in your Spanish!

Beginners 32: Aconsejar - Giving advice

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 09:54:29 +0000

Learn how to use "aconsejar" and "consejo"

Beginners 31: Using the verb llevar

Spanish Obsessed — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 09:57:42 +0000

Learn how to use the handy verb "llevar" to say how long you've been doing something. Plus, four ways to say "lockdown"...!

Beginners 30: How to tell a joke

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 07:59:17 +0000

Learn a few Spanish jokes, guaranteed to make your audience groan.

Beginners 29: How to tell a story

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 08:49:46 +0000

All about those little things that you can say to structure a story, and bring it to life.

Beginners 28: Conversation strategies

Spanish Obsessed — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 09:20:27 +0000

Learn all about those little phrases and words which Spanish speakers use to keep conversations going, show their understanding, interrupt people, and more!

Beginner Spanish 27: Problem solving

Spanish Obsessed — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 09:00:00 +0000

Learn useful verbs and constructions to help solve problems

Beginner Spanish 26: Some pronunciation tips

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 09:00:00 +0000

Learn some of the tell-tale signs of a learner Spanish accent

Beginner Spanish 25: How to pay a compliment

Spanish Obsessed — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 09:00:00 +0000

We cover some useful and authentic ways of paying someone a compliment in Spanish

Beginner Spanish 24: Making excuses

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Specific language you can use for when you need to make an excuse in Spanish

Beginner Spanish 23: Asking for a favour

Spanish Obsessed — Fri, 22 Jun 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Learn different ways and structures that you can ask for favours in Spanish

Beginner Spanish 22: Spanish proverbs

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 10:00:00 +0000

We explore 6 common and useful Spanish proverbs that you can start using in your conversations right away

Beginner Spanish 21: Dealing with the authorities

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Rob and Lis both tell a story about their experiences of dealing with the authorities, in Spain and Colombia. This lesson is focused on comprehension, so be sure to follow along with the transcript if you struggle.

Beginner Spanish 20: Driving

Spanish Obsessed — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Learn important vocabulary and phrases for when you are out and about on the roads in Spain and Latin America.

Beginner Spanish 19: How to complain

Spanish Obsessed — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 11:00:00 +0000

Learn the subtle art of complaining in Spanish

Beginner Spanish 18: At the doctors

Spanish Obsessed — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 17:00:00 +0000

Learn the vocabulary and phrases you’ll need should you ever have to pay a visit to the doctor or pharmacy.

Beginner Spanish 17: Social networks

Spanish Obsessed — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 17:00:00 +0000

Learn the latest Spanish vocabulary around social networks, and communication in the digital age. How are social networks changing Spanish (as well as English)? How do you say "update", "upload", "download", "tag", and other important "digital verbs"? What is "a like" in Spanish?

Beginner Spanish 16: Morning and evening people

Spanish Obsessed — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 19:00:00 +0000

One thing that we’ve noticed since living together is how different we feel about mornings and evenings. Liz is a morning person, and Rob is definitely not…

Beginner Spanish 15: Arranging to meet

Spanish Obsessed — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 19:00:00 +0000

Building on our previous podcast about how to tell the time, we now give you a few ways that you can arrange to meet with someone. We also take a quick look at the conditional.

Beginner Spanish 14: Telling the time

Spanish Obsessed — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 19:00:00 +0000

Learn how to tell the time in Spanish, along with other time related phrases.

Beginner Spanish 13: Habits and Customs

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 19:00:00 +0000

Using "adverbs of frequency" to talk about how often you do things, how to ask "how often", and using the incredibly useful verb "soler"

Beginner Spanish 12: Arguments

Spanish Obsessed — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 19:00:00 +0000

Useful phrases for some of the most intense "conversations" you can have: arguments! Tempers may be running high, so it's always good to have a stock of phrases that you can fall back in should you ever be unfortunate enough to have an argument with a Latino/a or Spaniard!

Beginner Spanish 11: Money

Spanish Obsessed — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:00:00 +0000

Learn vocabulary related to money – how to ask about prices, how to actually say prices (numbers do come in handy!), as well as a few other money related phrases!

Beginner Spanish 10: Feelings and emotion

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Learn about using reflexive verb "sentirse" to describe your emotions, and how to use other constructions with "dar" and "poner" to describe how things make you feel.

Beginner Spanish 9: Going Out

Spanish Obsessed — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Spanish phrases for going out and socialising

Beginner Spanish 8: Sports

Spanish Obsessed — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 19:00:00 +0000

How to talk about playing and watching sports in Spanish

Beginner Spanish 7: Family

Spanish Obsessed — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Vocab, phrases and Spanish conversation all about family.

Beginner Spanish 6: Moving House

Spanish Obsessed — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:00:00 +0000

We talk about our recent move

Beginner Spanish 5: Romantic Spanish

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:00:00 +0000

All about "el dia de San Valentin", where love is in the air and we teach all about romantic Spanish. Learn phrases and terms for referring to your significant other, love idioms, and much more.

Beginner Spanish 4: Illness

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Rob and Liz are "enfermos" (ill)! They talk (moan) about their illnesses, and what they're going to do about it. Learn different ways of saying "I have a cold", "head ache", "stomach ache", "back ache", or anything-ache! How to cure your cold with vitamins, hot drinks, and staying at home.

Beginner Spanish 3: Transport

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Learn about different types of transport in Spanish, including a few methods which are unique to Colombia! You'll learn: Different methods of transport, cardinal numbers (first, second, third, etc), the "masculine problem" (you'll see what we mean).

Beginner Spanish 2: Resolutions

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:00:00 +0000

We've just reached 2013, another new year and opportunity to make and break new years resolutions! We run through the most popular resolutions, and tell you our own new years resolutions.

Beginner Spanish 1: The Weather

Spanish Obsessed — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Welcome to our first episode, all about the weather! Here's what you'll learn: Three questions to ask people when you first meet them English people love talking about the weather, but Colombians aren't so interested - their weather stays the same all around the year. Why? How to ask about the weather How to tell people that it's hot, cold, raining, or sunny Four cool phrases from the "streets", talking about... The weather!